Car-coupling.



w. mso.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27, 1918- -1 $294,343. Patented Feb. 11,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

wi/tmaoo w. KELSO. CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27,1918.

1,294,343. Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

3 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

W. KELSO.

CAR COUPLING.

APPHCATION FILED NOV 21, 1918.

1,294,343. Patented Feb. 11,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- lvi lmzoo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGN'OR TO THE MCC ONWAY &

TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

GAB-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM Knnso, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to car couplers of the Master Car Builders type and has for its principal object to improve, perfect and render reliable in operation the type of car coupler of which the M. C. B. standard D coupler is the best known example.

In the standard D coupler, wherein the lock for the knuckle is adapted to swing rearwardly so as to engage and be supported in lockset position by the shorter arm of a horizontally rotatable knuckle opening lever, the form, combination and relation of the elements of the mechanism is such that the look at times fails to drop into locked position when the knuckle, after being opened, is rotated to closed position. At such times the knuckle opener extends into the path of locking movement of the lock and prevents the latter from dropping. This defect, arising out of the mode of combining the elements constituting the mechanism, tends to be aggravated by continued use of the coupler in service, since the blows delivered to the knuckle opener by the knuckle in closing cause or tend to cause a compression or battering of the material of the coupler head adjacent to the knuckle opener. This permits the shorter arm ofthe knuckle opener to extend correspondingly farther into the path of locking movement of the lock.

To overcome the before noted objection my invention, generally stated, provides means for limiting the rotation of the shorter arm of the knuckle opener toward the lock, the same being combined with a coupler head, a pivoted knuckle, a horizontally rotatable knuckle-opening lever pivotally mounted on the coupler head, and a lock which is adapted to move toward a portion of the knuckle-opening lever so as to be seated thereon and sustained thereby in lockset position.

In the drawings, which illustrate my invention as applied to the Master Car Builders standard D coupler,

Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of the mechanism, the knuckle and knuckle opening lever being shown in plan.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken on the line 22, Fig. 1, the lock being shown in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, the lock and knuckle being omitted.

Fig. i is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, but illustrating another form of the invention.

Fig. 1, the lock being omitted.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 66, Fig. 4, the knuckle and lock being omitted. In the drawings, 1 indicates the coupler head and 2 is the knuckle pivotally mounted on the coupler head by means of a knuckle pin 3. Normally the knuckle is prevented from swinging to open position by the lock 4: which, when in locked position, extends across the path of movement of the tail of the'knuckle. The lock 4: may be raised to unlocked position by means of a litter 5 which is movably connected at its lower end to the lock by means of pivot lugs or pintles 6 and which projects upwardly through the coupler head. But as it is often desired to employ an underneath release rigging for actuating the lock the latter is provided at its lower end with a slot 7 adapted to receive a well known form of release rigging of that type.

When the lifter 5 is operated to unlock the coupler the pivots or pintles 6 thereof engage and pull upwardly upon the lock 4: at a point that is above and to one side of its center of gravity. This causes the lower portion 8 of the lock to swing rearwardly under the action of gravity as soon as it is free to do so. In locked position the lock 4: rests upon the upper surface of the shorter arm 9 of a horizontally rotatable knuckleopening lever 10 which is mounted in the lowerpart of the coupler head 1, the lock being for such purpose formed with a shoulder 11. Lower down on the lock is another shoulder 12 which is adapted to be seated upon the upper surface of the shorter arm of the knuckle-opening-lever when the lower Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55,

end of the lock swings rearwardly under the influence of gravity after the lock has been raised sufficiently to permit an uncoupling rotation of the knuckle 2 to take place. By this means the lock is sustained in lock-set position permittingoutward rotation of the knuckle.

Upon its forward face the lock 4 is provided with a projection 13 which, when the lock is raised above its unlocked position, engages and fulcrums upon a lug lformed on the inner side of the forward wall of the coupler head. This positive swinging of the lock causes its lower portion 8 to engage the shorter arm 9 of the lmucklecpening lever and force it rearwardly, thereby causing the longer arm of the lever 10 to press against the rear face of the knuckle tail and induce an uncoupling rotation of the knuckle 2.

The coupler head 1 is formed with a recess 15. which is terminated at the front by a wall or shoulder 16 forming an abutment adapted to engage the arm 9 of the knuckleopening lever on which the lock is seated when in lockset position and to arrest the rotation of said arm at a point preventing it from extending into the path of movementtraversed by the look when the latter is returning to locked position following a closing movement of the knuckle. The portion of the shorter arm 9 of the lever which engages the abutment 16 is preferably fashioned as a downwardly extending lug l7 projectinginto the'recess 15 of the coupler head. This recess, as shown in the drawings, is preferably of arcuate form and extends rearwardly a distance sufiicient to afford the l'rnuckle-opening lever 10 the requisite pivotal movementrequired to swing the knuckle to open position.

In the construction shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, thev shorter arm of the knuckle-opening lever 18 is extended laterally, as at'19, to engage a shoulder or abutment 20 performing the same function as the abutment 16, the coupler head21 being recessed, as at 22, to receive and permit operative 1novement of the extended portion 19 of the lmuckle-opener. Apart from these difi'erences, the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 is constructed and operates in the Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the same way as the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and3 already described.

I claim:

1. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a horizontally rotatable lever for opening said knuckle, and a lock for said "knuckle, said lock being adapted to engage and be maintained in lockset position by one of the arms of said knuckle-opening lever, and said head being provided with means adapted to engage said arm to limit its rotation toward said lock when said knuckle moves to coupled position.

2. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a lever for rotating said lmuckle to open position, a lock for said knuckle adapted to move toward one of the arms of said knuckle-opening lever and to be supported on said arm in lock-set position, and means for preventing said arm froin extending into the path of locking movement of said look when said knuckle moves to coupled position.

'3. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, a horizontally rotatable knuckle-opening lever pivotally mounted in the lower part of said head, and a lock for said knuckle adapted to move upwardly and rearwardly to a position in which it engages and is sup ported in lockset positionby one arm of said knuckle-opening lever, said coupler head be ing provided with an abutment adapted to engage said arm to limit its rotation toward said lock when said knuckle moves to coupled position. 7 r

4:. A car coupler having a head, a knuckle, arotatable knuckle-opening lever pivotally mounted on said head,and a lock for said knuckle adapted to actuate said knuckle.

opening lever, said lock being adapted to move upwardly and rearwardly to apositlon in which 1t 15 supported in lockset position by one arm of said knuckle-opening lever, and said head being formed with. a

recess adapted to receive aportion' of said lever arm and being provided at the forward end of sald recess with an abutment adapted to engage said arm to limit its rotation toward said lock when said lmuckle moves to coupled position. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

commissioner er Emerita.

Washington, D. b. 

